~ Thoughts on Freedom and The West

Tag Archives: economics

***Note*** I’ve got a lot of drafts sitting around, some in existence and unpublished since 2013. It became obvious to me that I’m in no hurry to get around to them. But, they’ve survived various draft purges over the years. If they’re that important I can just come back and elaborate later. For now, I offer them, kind of as-is, in this, a lightning publishing round. The fun will continue while supplies last. Make of these what you will. Or not. I don’t care.

There will be more on this later. As-is, a short from Feb. of 2013:

Repudiate the entire federal debt and all other debts in the U.S. Take other steps to keep from repeating. National bankruptcy is easier than one might suppose. It’s critical now; the debt, all of it, is fake, evil, and deadly. Let 2019 be the Year of Jubilee.

The next MAJOR recession/depression should ramp the already disastrous federal debt up, heading towards my prediction of $40 Trillion by 2024. Well on the way, now:

According to the U.S. Treasury, the debt of the federal government is currently sitting at $21,854,296,172,540.94, and at our current pace we will likely hit the $22 trillion mark next month. This is a horrifying national crisis, and yet nothing is being done about it. When Barack Obama entered the White House in January 2008, the U.S. was $10.6 trillion in debt, and so that means that we have added 11.2 trillion dollars of new debt to that total in less than 11 years. Needless to say, it doesn’t take a math genius to figure out that we have been adding an average of more than a trillion dollars a year to the national debt for more than a decade. But instead of getting our insatiable appetite for debt under control, Congress is actually accelerating our spending. At this point, there is no possible scenario in which this story ends well.

Meanwhile, the global financial elite are really starting to talk up the possibility of a new financial crisis.

By the time the “elite” start lying talking about a crisis, it’s already started.

This week’s column follows, in full. I wrote it fast and dry and, one quick edit aside, I didn’t even read it. An apology for the ho-hum-ness passed to TPC. But … MB ran it with praise today. I read it and … he might be right. A blending of one of my pet issues with a little nuanced fiction, comedy even. It captures a glimpse into my recent foray into cultural anthropology, a little hidden German truth, and even some nature photography. Enjoy:

Somewhere, a professor concludes a lecture on political economy and economic politics.

———-

‘So, class, to wrap things up, the government and its allies – the other enemies of the free people – always engage in three insidious activities. All three loot actual productive value from the highest and best uses of capital, shifting it into various schemes, all of them nefarious. All three eat away at the economy. All three amount to forcible theft. Slavery, we could even rightly call it.

‘The stolen money, the stolen value is used to buy votes via illegal programs. It beats down innovation and competition from start-ups. It enriches and empowers the few at the expense of the many. Evil. To. The. Core.

‘And, again, I call these the three “tions.” That’s spelled “t-i-o-n-s,” pronounced “shuns, s-h-u-n-s.” And, shun these mechanisms of cultural destruction we should.

‘Again, they are: regulation, taxation, and inflation.

‘Taxation is the most obvious of the evil trio. Pay them what you’re told or else men with guns will literally come and take it by force – up to and including deadly force – if necessary. And for all they tax, they still spend more.

‘Think about this: King George demanded the aggregate equivalent of a one to two percent income tax, and that only affecting certain industries and persons. What do we pay Washington these days? Ten, twenty, thirty percent? Was as high as ninety at one time.

‘Regulation affects everything. This category is a bill of goods, sold to the enstupidated masses under the guise of “protection.” We know the only people protected are the government agents whose jobs depend on enforcement – more men with guns – and the wealthy businesses who write the laws and regulations.

‘Remember that the next time you’re tempted to vote. You’ve been sold out. They simply do not care about you. After the election dust settles and the pleasant lies subside, it’s back to business as usual. Government of, by, and for the corporations.

‘For an age and a half, politicians – especially “conservatives” – have railed and ranted about cutting the size and scope of the theft. They haven’t. Anymore, they don’t even try to retard the rate of growth. Sellouts, all.

‘All except one, maybe. The oddest thing has happened. For once we have, in power, a man willing to at least try what he boasts. And, most incredible of all, he’s seemingly getting results. Donald John Trump said he would cut taxes and regulations. And then … he cut taxes and regulations.

‘The tax cuts – decried as radical – were, to me, most modest. Still, modest beats nothing. But the regs. Those he’s been feeding into the wood chipper.

‘And the economy has answered. BOOM! (For now…)

‘The Congress, well not so much. Those fools keep spending and there’s never enough. With all the cuts, the economy is predictably growing. That means higher tax revenues – with and from lower tax rates. But the idiots spend even more. More debt. More debt. And then, some more debt. And the debt is a problem. Someone once wrote something about that… That was a truth and a joke…. Ah, well. (*Sigh*)

‘The debt goes hand in hand, hand on hammer, with the third “tion,” inflation. But, maybe, just maybe, Trump is about to address that too.

‘Up until now, he’s tolerated both the machinations of the Fed and the spendthrift stupidity of the legislative branch. Here’s to hoping that that’s about to change.

‘The other day, in typical Trump-Twitter fashion, the President accurately described the Fed criminals as “loco.” That’s el-Spanish for “crazy.”

‘And it is crazy. Central banking, as we’ve already noted, is always, always, always an insane suicide pact. Cheap, easy money today, misery tomorrow and for years to come. Theft and slavery, writ large. Cut taxes to Constitutional levels – to zero – and pare down the regulators to levels acceptable in 1787 and, if you keep up the funny money and debt, you still come to utter ruin. Eventually.

As the good and learned professor looked upon the gathered young faces, an uncertain hand rose from the throng.

‘Yes, young Sir,’ cued the professor.

A small voice answered, ‘My. My. My shoe is untied.’

‘Teddy called Tommy a bad word!’ called out another tiny voice unsolicited.

‘Um,’ stammered the old academic, ‘Well. Let’s just. Okay! Class is dismissed! Your teacher will now help you out to the buses … and … so forth. Down with the “tions!”’

Slightly dismayed by the blank stares in Ms. Hiccup’s third-grade classroom, Professor Wahrheit collected his things and departed the Immanuel Kant Comprehensive Elementary School for the Arts and STEM Inclusion Learning.

A foursome of deer, ambling about on business of their own, encountered Wahrheit midway along his long walk home. ‘The man seems troubled,’ thought the lead doe. But the “tions” simply were not her concern. With a sniff and a bound she was gone. Three smaller females followed. Warheit, still walking, didn’t even notice.

Fresh dirt has spilled at Goldman Sachs — and this time it has been caught on tape.

David Solomon, who took the helm of the Wall Street giant from Lloyd Blankfein last week, once blew off criticism of Goldman’s double-dealing in a big energy merger as a matter of “perception” — a cheeky dismissal that came despite a class-action lawsuit against the deal that eventually cost Goldman $20 million in fees.

That’s among the cringeworthy quotes that Carmen Segarra claims she secretly recorded behind closed doors for her new book “Noncompliant: A Lone Whistleblower Exposes the Giants of Wall Street.” The 340-page exposé expands on her previous claims that Goldman Sachs has long exploited an improperly cozy relationship with Wall Street regulators.

President Donald Trump slammed the Federal Reserve as “going loco” for its interest-rate increases this year in comments hours after the worst U.S. stock market sell-off since February.

Trump said in a telephone interview on Fox News late Wednesday night the market plunge wasn’t because of his trade conflict with China: “That wasn’t it. The problem I have is with the Fed,” he said. “The Fed is going wild. They’re raising interest rates and it’s ridiculous.”

“That’s not the problem,” he said of the trade standoff. “The problem in my opinion is the Fed,” he added. “The Fed is going loco.”

Fake Money and Fake Debt Make Real Problems

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend.”

– Polonius to Laertes, Hamlet, Act I, Scene III.

America has a debt problem. In a time of a booming economy mentioning that is out of vogue. Democrats aren’t talking about it. Republicans aren’t talking about it. President Trump isn’t talking about it. They know, they’re just staying quiet while they can.

The Federal Reserve knows. So do the talking heads at CNBC. If one listens very hard one will occasionally hear the faintest murmur from those quarters that something might be amiss.

During the good times, no-one wants to talk about bubbles no matter how big or bad they are. Peter Schiff is an exception. In a recent article for the New York Post by John Aidan Byrne, Schiff predicted the next depression (with a “D”).

“We won’t be able to call it a recession, it’s going to be worse than the Great Depression,” said economic commentator Peter Schiff, forecasting a major economic downturn as early as the tail end of the Trump presidency’s first term. “The US economy is in so much worse shape than it was a decade ago.”

We are, statistically, historically, overdue for a downturn. It’s not a matter of if as much a matter of when. So, “when?” While not as unpredictable as the Second Coming, this question is best answered with a hearty “sooner or later.” Some of us have been saying that for a while.

There a seldom-discussed phenomenon which, given enough time, will invariably affect any large institution. There evolve two classes of people therein. The first carry out the core functions of the outfit. The second consists of support and administrative functionaries, often important but not critical. Eventually, the second class almost always comes to control operations within the institution; their compensation usually outpaces the core function class.

In an example related to American education, we once again have the yearly college salary numbers from CUPA. Interesting, telling numbers.

Some of these jobs are arguably important to a large school. But, who does the educating??? And all of the professorial numbers ignore the trend of the adjuncts, poorly (POORLY) paid and overworked – teaching 50% of all classes.

Young people, please consider all of this along with the rising, always rising costs associated with the process. And consider the following trend:

More and more companies are scrapping college degree requirements for jobs. They’re not saying you shouldn’t seek higher education, but not having a degree won’t be a barrier for you to work in certain jobs at their companies.

An area school recently sent home consent forms informing them of a new corporal policy at an area school. The superintendent says they’ve received a little over a hundred forms back, a third of them giving consent to paddle their child.

“In this school, we take discipline very seriously,” said Jody Boulineau, Superintendent of GSIC.

GSIC is going old school with a new policy for this year.

“There was a time where corporal punishment was kind of the norm in school and you didn’t have the problems that you have,” the Superintendent said.

You heard that right. Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics, a K through 9 charter school, is bringing back paddling students as a form of discipline.

Younger young people, think about that.

If students engage in anything even resembling “violence,” even in self-defense, they may rest assured that they will be disciplined, up to and including possible arrest. But, what’s forbidden to the child goose is a-okay for the sinecure gander. And, this particular school, new and innovative as it might be, is in a district with an utterly dismal academic success record. So, the kids can expect to literally take a beating in exchange for a fraudulent, substandard education, for that unnecessary credential.

During another age and in another century, your young author was a frequent target of the “board” of education. As such I can kind of sympathize with the administrators (always the ones in charge) who seek to use it again. However, if I recall correctly, all those whacks did little (nothing) to deter boys from being boys. In other words, it usually doesn’t work. And much else has changed in the past 100+ years. Then, schools expected order just as students expected instruction. Both usually got what they needed. Today, it’s a different, worn and sad story.

The world’s first trillionaire won’t come from cryptocurrency or some clever new app – he or she will become rich from asteroid mining.

That’s what bankers Goldman Sachs reckon, anyway – and several companies are now vying to be the first into space.

NASA estimates that the total value of asteroids out there could be up to $700 quintillion – equivalent to £75 billion each for us here on Earth.

That is the equivalent of saying a wolf told you that a fox was hungry and thus every chicken would be happier.

The asteroid mining idea is real and will happen – but not with every single body orbiting the Sun. Someone will likely become extremely wealthy as a result. If The Goldman Sachs has its way, then that someone will be in some way directly related to Goldman Sachs. (And why switch dollars to pounds in the same sentence?)

If the real obtainable value of the celestial rocks really is $700 quintillion, then expect Goldman, the Fed, and Mordor to arrange future loans in the septillion range, with derivatives betting on the order of decillions. Gresham’s Law dictates they would still find a way to kill positive growth with funny money.

The zeros behind the $ or the £ mean nothing. That’s why, even if one distributed the actual cash value of the space debris to each and every person on Earth, turning everyone into billionaires, nothing would change. Zimbabwe is replete with billionaires – who can’t afford lunch.

In his defense, Rob Waugh is an excellent jack-of-all-trades journalist; maybe economics just isn’t one of them. However, that should be (should be) a specialty over at Bloomberg, where they supposedly push business news.

U.S. inflation accelerated in May to the fastest pace in more than six years, reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s outlook for gradual interest-rate hikes while eroding wage gains that remain relatively tepid despite an 18-year low in unemployment.

The consumer price index rose 0.2 percent from the previous month and 2.8 percent from a year earlier, matching estimates, a Labor Department report showed Tuesday. The annual gain was the biggest since February 2012 and follows a 2.5 percent increase in April. Excluding food and energy, the core gauge was up 0.2 percent from the prior month and 2.2 percent from May 2017, also matching the median estimates of economists.

Fed. Fed. Fed. Fed. Rates. Rates. Rates. In Bloomberg’s defense, they are actually in the business of promoting certain interests, like those of Goldman.

The narrative works something like this: The economy is great, never stronger. Unemployment is low, officially. Wages are rising. Inflation is low. Oops, for completely unforeseen reasons, likely related to gas prices, it reared its ugly head. Time to raise rates on the flood of fiat. Sally School teacher in Iowa sees her recent raise evaporate. But that doesn’t matter; Goldman is mining the Moon or something.

They leave out: That all the money, almost all of it, is fake, based on debts that cannot be repaid. Everything in the economy depends on said fake money (it’s like mixing in helium for a dive – a little boosts depth range, too much kills). Wages are always one of the last things to “catch up” after a correction – only just in time for the next correction. Real wage buying power (how much the pay is really worth) only this year returned to levels last seen in 1973. 45 years of loss, and the new, temporary gains are now squashed by inflation.

It’s almost like we’ve entered into a terminal phase wherein the wages will not, cannot recover. Workers and earners see their purchasing power decline to ancient levels, their standards of living plunge toward serf-like proximity.

When this all hits the fan the next time around, it may hail the curtain call for the banksters. That would be the good news.

Maybe there’s a way to relocate the banksters and their political pets to the heavens? Metro/UK.